The tournament which is being held from 26 April to 4 May, at the Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has taken months of planning and preparations.

This is a very important tournament for all teams, as the top two teams will receive tickets for the next Olympic Qualifying round which will be held later in the year.

For the Malaysian team, playing a qualifier in front of one’s home crowd is special. As Malaysia inches closer to their first match, the excitement is palpable.

This Malaysian squad has a great mix of youth and experience. It’s average age is in the early-20s, perfect for competitive hockey.

There is experience in the form of Faizal Saari, Fitri Saari, Razie Rahim and Captain Sukri Mutalib, who will form the core and run the play, while younger players will use their speed, intensity and exuberance in winning the ball, launching counter-attacks and fall back when needed.

This Qualifier will hopefully be an agent of change for the Malaysian hockey team, whose federation has provided them with nothing but the best.

To make this happen, the squad will need to iron out their flaws. They have to treat each match equally, as if it is their last match.

The event will see Canada, Wales, Austria, China, Brazil, Italy and China along with Malaysia competing at the event.

“I welcome all the international hockey teams, the distinguished delegates and the hockey officials to Kuala Lumpur. The MHC team is truly blessed with so many people helping us and I wish there was a better word to describe the magnanimous work they have done. Let’s all have a great tournament.” said MHC Deputy President Dr. Shamala Subramaniam.

So, whether you are in Malaysia or not, cheer them on, so that they can do what needs to be done.

How to follow the game :

The best way to follow the tournament is through our Social Media platforms and our Live blog platform (The Dragflick Live).

Twitter (@thedragflick) will post updates during the matches and use the hashtag #FIHHockeySeriesFinals, while Facebook will also have stories, photos, reports and more.

Match reports will also appear on the home page of the The Dragflick website. Live scores should also be available on our live blog platform.

Please check Twitter and Facebook for those links once they are live and please send any messages of support through Facebook.